CORDILLERA STUDIES CENTER

The Cordillera Studies Center (CSC) came into being in June 1980, when the Board of Regents approved its establishment as the research and extension arm of the Division of Social Sciences. During its formative period, the activities of the Center were guided by the following key considerations:

“A multi-disciplinary approach to research; close linkage with local communities to enable the Center to respond to social issues confronting the region; a vision of social science practice relevant to the process of social transformation”.

Research activities during its first decade focused on highland agriculture using the agro-ecosystem framework; population, resources and environment; and issues in governance and policy. Later, the CSC expanded its research agenda to include studies on women and gender; local economic, political and social institutions; indigenous knowledge and world views; local history, and health. Issues in Cordillera autonomy also became an important component of its research program.

Although the CSC was propelled largely by social science research, it was also able to accommodate the research interests of faculty from the humanities and natural sciences. The move toward greater multi-disciplinary collaboration received an impetus when the CSC began operating as a College Research Center in June 1998.

In December 2002, the University of the Philippines Baguio (UP Baguio) became the 7th constituent university of the UP System. An integral component of the blueprint for UP Baguio as constituent university was the transformation of the CSC into the University Research Center. This was formalized in 2004.

Today, the CSC takes on the mandate to realize the goal of making UP Baguio into the lead institution for research in Northern Luzon.